


Light Carries On Endlessly, Even After Death

by AliceinSpace



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Alternate Ending, Father/Daughter, Hurt/Comfort, Joel and Ellie - Freeform, Joel comforting Ellie from beyond the grave, TLOU2 spoilers, don't read this yet!, if you haven't finished part ii
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:20:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24970711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceinSpace/pseuds/AliceinSpace
Summary: She’s been gasping and suffocating since that night.  Since she lost the one person she thought she’d be able to keep for the rest of her life.An alternate ending for Part II, in which Ellie hears something she's needed to hear for a long time.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	Light Carries On Endlessly, Even After Death

_i’d do it all again,_ whispers his voice.

The wind tries to carry it away from her, but she reaches out with her heart in her fingers and won’t let go of that voice she longs for. Not yet. Her vision swims. The colors of the flowers blur into a kaleidoscope painting, the letters that compose his name like a song bleed into each other.

She needs to hear this the way she needs to breathe. She might need this more.

_if i’d known what would happen,_ and even inside her his voice breaks with tears that mirror her own, _i would make the same choice. i’d choose four more years with you every time. i’d choose every moment with you._

_i choose you_

There’s no way to know how long she kneels in the damp earth clinging to those three words. They are insignificant. They are remarkable. They are an anchor around her neck. They are water that keeps her afloat. As they echo inside her hands, her mind, her heart, she learns how to breathe again. She’s been gasping and suffocating forever, since that night, since she had to begin all over again. Since she lost the one person she thought she’d be able to keep for the rest of her life.

She was able to keep him for the rest of his. She has him with her, not in the way she wanted, but it’s enough for now. Maybe Sam was right and she will see him again.

Air flows cleanly into her lungs, filling her up, and she revels in it as if she’s not sure how long she has to enjoy the feeling.

_i choose you_

As his voice fades, her eyes clear. Those words plant themselves in her heart, to grow and to heal as the world continues to turn. She wipes her face with the back of her hand and lets out a long breath. A small smile is tucked into the corner of her mouth as her fingertips trace his name. She leans over the flowers and closes her eyes and presses a kiss to his forehead.

Then she stands.

They have saved each other over and over and over and over again.

And now he’s saving her one more time, even after he’s gone to be with Sarah.

She is living with two souls in her body, and both of them will live for a long time.

_you’re alive, baby girl_

“I’m alive,” she tells the world.

And the world agrees.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Saturn by Sleeping at Last
> 
> I wrote this only about 10 hours into gameplay, long before I knew about the flashback at the end and their last words to each other, so it's definitely an alternate ending.
> 
> I have lots of feelings and thoughts about Part II, some good and some not so good, but I can say one thing: at its core, this game was still about Joel and Ellie. Don't get me wrong, I will be writing and writing until I feel okay again, but the game hit in the most unexpected and deep ways and I am of the opinion that it is a masterpiece, even if it's not the masterpiece I wanted.
> 
> Let me know what you think of this fic, and feel free to message me on Tumblr (compassinmyhead) if you want to talk about the game itself! 💙


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